Feed mechanism for a crop baler

ABSTRACT

A feeding mechanism that sweeps crops along a feed chamber into a bale case of the baler is of the double bar type with a straight tubular feed finger supporting member and a guide member in reciprocal supporting relation thereto. Rollers on the sides of the supporting member are in constant longitudinal spaced relation and ride in transversely spaced U-shaped tracks on opposite sides of the guide member. The supporting member is connected to an elliptical chain drive located in a drive housing above the feed chamber at the bale case end. The guide member is connected to a rotating crank at the opposite end of the drive housing. The drives actuate the members to move the feed fingers along the feed chamber in a feed stroke for sweeping crops into the bale case and return the feed fingers through the drive housing in a generally parallel relation to the feed chamber.

United States Patent 1 Nolt 3,724,363 Apr. 3, 1973 FEED MECHANISM FOR ACROP Primary Examiner-William 1. Price BALER Assistant Examiner-C. K.Moore Attorney-John C. Thompson, George C. Bower, [75] Inventor. EdwinB. Nolt, New Holland, Pa. Joseph A. Brown Larry L Coats and Jamas J.[73] Assignee: Sperry Rand Corporation, New Holnedy land, Pa. 221 Filed:June 1,1971 [57] ABSTRACT A feeding mechanism that sweeps crops along afeed [21] Appl' 148374 chamber into a bale case of the baler is of thedouble bar type with a straight tubular feed finger supporting [52] US.Cl ..l00/189, 56/341 member and a guide member in reciprocal supporting[51] Int. Cl. ..B30b 1/00 relation thereto. Rollers on the sides of thesupporting Field of Search member are in constant longitudinal spacedrelation 56/343; 198/223; 308/38; 49/409 and ride in transversely spacedU-shaped tracks on opposite sides of the guide member. The supporting[56] References Cited member is connected to an elliptical chain drivelocated in a drive housing above the feed chamber at UNITED STATESPATENTS the bale case end. The guide member is connected to 3,517,6096/1970 Smith et al. ..l00/l89 a rotating crank at the pp end of thedrive housl,031,677 7/1912 Rumsey ..49/409 X ing. The drives actuate themembers to rriove the feed 2,953,083 1960 McDufi'le 7 3 X fingers alongthe feed chamber in a feed stroke for M cDuffie et al. weeping cropsinto the bale case and return the feed 3,636,869 l/l972 D Acremont et al..l0 0/l89 fingers through the drive housing in a generally p lelrelation to the feed chamber.

15 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAFR 3 1975 SHEET 1 OF 4 l I i I Ii I I i I I EDWIN 8 NOL T ATTORXPH A fli 14% om lllllllllllllll IIIIIIPATENTEDAPR 3 I975 SHEET 2 BF 4 l luwwvnlixl mnvnw Aw I 4 fDW/A/fi N TMGM PATENTEDAPR 3 I975 SHEET 0F 4 INVENTOR. EDW/N B. NOLT FEED MECHANISMFOR A CROP BALER CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Thisapplication discloses features (either wholly or in part) which are setforth and claimed in U.S. application Ser. No. 285,947 for ImprovedMounting Structure for the Feed Mechanism of a Baler filed Sept. 1,1972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to mobile crop balersand is directed particularly to feeding mechanisms delivering the pickedup crop to the bale case.

In the mechanization of the farm there has been a great deal of emphasison the mechanical harvesting and gathering of crops. One of the machinesperfected in the past three or four decades has been the mobile balerwhich may be either of the tractor pull type or self-propelled type.These types move across fields to pick up crops in windrows or swathsand compress the crops into rectangular shaped bales. The bale is aconvenient form for handling the crop manually or by machinery.

A baler should fulfill many requisites to meet the requirements anddemands of the farmer and independent operators. These requirements anddemands are increasing with the need for better and more economicalbaling of crops.

The baler shown and described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,535 issued toCharles C. Smith et al. on June 30, 1970, has an improved operation,better shaped bales and higher capacity. This is a new type of baler andis referred to as a double bar type. The feeding mechanism operates at a100 strokes per minute with an improved entry of the feed fingers intothe crop in the feed chamber and clearing of the crop from the feedchamber. This increased rate of operation feeds thinner slices of cropto the bale case for more uniformity in the density of the bale andbetter bale shape. The increased rate also permits faster movement ofthe baler for a higher capacity. This baler fulfills these requirements.

In this type of baler with a double bar feed mechanism it is desirableto have the pressure relief spring inside the tubular member supportingthe feed fingers, it is also desirable to increase the durability of thefeed mechanism and to improve the feeding action.

In the U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 55,300, now U.S. Pat. No.3,636,869, filed on July 10, 1970 by Alain F dAcremont et al. andentitled Fodder Baler Feed Mechanism another double bar feedingmechanism is shown. In this feed mechanism, the guide member ispivotally supported by two rotary arms and circularly rotated parallelto itself. The finger supporting bar is pivotally connected at the balecase end to a generally elliptical drive and, at the other end, hasshoes pivotally mounted thereon which are slideable in parallel channelsections of the guide member for relative angular movement of the guidemember and the finger supporting bar.

It is however desirable to further improve on the double bar feedingmechanism by providing a guide member drive that is less expensive, hasfewer parts and has less complicated timing conditions while stillhaving the pressure relief spring inside the feed finger supportingmember.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION wear characteristics of the doublebar type feed mechanism.

In summary this invention comprises a feed mechanism with theelliptically driven feed finger supporting member having transverselyand longitudinally spaced sets of supporting elements riding in constantspaced relation on tracks of a guide member having a generally U-shapeand fitting around the feed finger supporting member in parallelreciprocal relation therewith.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will beapparent from the following description and claims taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings which illustrate those features of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a back end view of the feedmechanism of a crop material baler taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the feed mechanism with the top wallfragmentized.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the feed mechanism taken along line 3-3 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the feed mechanism taken along line 4-4 ofFIG. 1 and illustrates the pivotal connection of the guiding supportingmember to the crank.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the finger supporting member connectionpin taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the feed finger supporting member.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the feed finger supporting member takenalong line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8-11 are diagrammatic views of four positions of the parallelreciprocating finger supporting means.

INTRODUCTION In the drawings, the feed mechanism 10 for a crop materialbaler is shown in detail in connection with fragments of the bale case11, the feeder case 12 and the pickup 13. The baler is of the mobilepulled type and mounted on two transversely spaced wheels 14 of whichonly the outboard or right wheel is shown. The baler moves in directionA and the crop material is gathered from the ground by the pickup l3 anddelivered through the opening 15 to the feed chamber 16. The four feedfingers 17, 18, 19 and 20 sweep along the feed chamber to carry the cropmaterial towards and into the bale case 11 through the crop materialdelivery opening 21 in the side of the bale case. The plunger mechanismin and on the bale case is indicated by the plunger 23.

The feeding mechanism, as viewed from the rear, is illustrated in FIG. 1by sectionally omitting the rear walls 22, (FIGS. 2 and 3). The feedingmechanism comprises a first rotating drive means 30, a second rotatingdrive means. 31, and connecting chain and sprocket drive 32. The firstrotating drive means 30 is an oval or elliptical path drive over thebale case 1 1 and the adjacent end of the feed chamber 16. The secondrotating drive means 31 is a circularly rotating crank at the outboardend of the feeder casing and is driven through the inboard firstrotating drive means by the crank drive 32. The parallel reciprocatingfinger supporting means is connected at opposite ends to the first orinboard rotating drive means 30 and the second or outboard rotatingdrive means 31', respectively, and carries the feed fingers in a linearmotion longitudinally along the feed chamber 16 with the lead feedfinger 17 traveling through the feed chamber into the bale case. Thefeed fingers are returned to the initial crop feeding position throughthe drive housing 25. The parallel reciprocating finger supporting meanscomprises a feed finger supporting member 34 and the guide supportingmember 35. The finger supporting member 34 is attached at its forwardend to the inboard rotating drive means and the outboard end of theguiding supporting member is pivotally connecting to the outboardrotating drive means. The finger supporting member 34 is attached to andsupported by the guide supporting member in relative linear motiontherebetween. The finger supporting member 34 has the feed finger 17,18, 19 and 20 attached thereto for movement by the finger supportingmember through the feed chamber and return to the initial crop materialsweeping position. The .finger supporting member 34 and guide supportingmember 35 move relatively in relation to one another through the cycleor path of travel.

DRIVES As best illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the inboard or first rotatingdrive means comprises two sprockets and 41 and a link chain 42. Thesprockets 40 and 41 are of equal size so that the upper and lower runsof the chain are parallel to the feed chamber. The sprocket 40 ismounted on the shaft 43 of the gearbox 44. The gearbox 44 is driven fromthe baler drive through chain 45a, the sprocket 45 and shaft 46. Thusthe feed mechanism is driven in timed relation with the plunger. Thesprocket 41 is drivingly mounted on the shaft 47. The shafts 43 and 47are horizontally spaced to impart an oval or elliptical shape to thechain 42 with upper and lower runs equal and parallel. The shaft 47 isrotatably mounted in the vertical drive housing wall 25. On the oppositeside of the wall is the smaller sprocket 48 of the outboard crank drive32. This drive includes a chain 53 a driven sprocket 49 larger than thedrive sprocket 48 and an idler sprocket 50 rotatably mounted by thebracket 51 on the wall 25. The driven sprocket 49 is keyed to the shaft52 rotatably mounted in the wall 25. The shaft extends therethrough withthe crank arm 54 extending radially therefrom. The crank arm 54 hasclamping yokes 55 and 56 on opposite ends for gripping attachment to theshaft 52 and the crank support pin 57. The distance between the centersof the shaft 52 and the pin 57 is substantially equal to the distancebetween the center of the shaft 47 and the point of engagement of theteeth of the sprocket 41. The shaft 52 however is positioned above theprojection of the line through the centers of the shafts 43 and 47 sothat the pin 57 is above the horizontal projection of the lower run ofthe chain 42. The chain 42 and the crank 54 are driven in timed relationby the outboard crank drive 32. The crank pin 57 subscribes a circularpath of travel in timed relation with the oval path of travel of thechain 42. The diameter of the sprockets 40 and 42 is in the order of thelength of the feed fingers projecting below the feed finger supportmember and greater than the length of the feed fingers projecting belowthe crop guard rod so that when the feed fingers are returned to theinitial sweeping position the feed fingers will be withdrawn into thedrive housing.

FEED FINGER SUPPORTING MEMBER The feed finger or first supporting memberis shown in detail in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7 and basically comprises a squareshaped tubular member having a passage 71 extending the length of themember and with openings at the ends thereof. The feed fingers 17-20 arefastened to the tubular member in distributed spaced relation. The feedfingers are each formed of two identical prongs having mounting portionsat the upper end with square shaped notches for snuggly fitting on thetubular finger supporting member 34 and secured together and to themember by fastening means such as bolts extending transversely acrossthe tubular memberand secured by nuts. The feed fingers are thussecurely fastened to the feed finger supporting member.

Guide support rollers 72 and 73 are mounted in sets on the upper ends ofU-shaped brackets 74. The brackets are securely and firmly attached tothe finger feed .supporting member 34 by two fastening means 75 on topand one on the bottom. The rollers rotate about axes perpendicular tothe support member and are positioned on opposite sides of the tubularmember. The rollers 73 are positioned adjacent the end of the supportingmember 34 and the rollers 72 are positioned intermediate the ends suchas about the middle or midpoint of the supporting member 34 for rollingin the guiding supporting member 35.

The feed finger supporting member 34 is pivotally connected to the chain42 through a feed pressure relief means and a pivotal connection 81. Thepivotal connection comprises a chain connector 82 with an attachingU-shaped bracket 83 fitting as a link of the chain 42 and a stub shaft84 extending perpendicularly to the chain 42. The feed pressurereliefmeans 80 has a single piece connector 85 with a sleeve 86 andshaft portion 87. The sleeve 86 is transverse to the supporting memberand rotatably mounted on the stub shaft 84. Appropriate washers andfastening means are mounted on the stub shaft 84 to secure the sleeve 86thereto. The shaft portion 86 extends perpendicularly to the sleeve. Theshaft portion 87 fits in the end of an overload extending tubular rod 88extending longitudinally within the supporting member. The rod isslideably mounted in the bearing block secured to the left of thesupporting member 34 by bolts 91, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Atthe inner end of the tubular rod 88, the stem portion of a T-shapedcross sectional fastening member 89 is secured to the tubular rod 88 bybolt 94, as illustrated in FIG. 7. A'piston-like means 93 is fastened tothe end of the tubular member 88. A control spring 96 is positionedbetween the bearing block 90 and a flanged washer 95 which bears againstthe piston-like means. The impelling force applied to the connection 85by the chain 42 is transmitted through the overload extension rod 88 tothe spring 96 and to the feed finger supporting member through thebearing block 90. Thus, if for any reason the feed fingers 17 to 20become overloaded the spring 96 will be compressed and the overloadextension rod will travel with the chain 42. This feature isparticularly desirable in controlling the density of the packing of thecrop material in the bale case and permitting the lead finger 17 to stopwhen the crop material becomes too dense in the bale case. During normaloperation and loads on the feed fingers the spring 96 will transmit theforces to the feed finger supporting member without the spring beingsubstantially compressed.

The guide or second supporting member 35 is the other member of theparallel reciprocating finger supporting means. This member is bestillustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 and has a length comparable to thefinger supporting member 34. In this embodiment the lengths of these twomembers are equal. The guiding supporting member has a U-shape in crosssection and in width is approximately three times the width of thefeeder finger supporting member. The sides 99 extend downwardly from thetop wall or main portion 98 extending horizontal. The sides and mainportion are about equal to the length of the side of the supportingmember 34. Along the lower edges the sides 99 are bent at right anglesto form tracks 100 for supporting the rollers 72 and 73. The rollers arein sets longitudinally spaced a constant distance and ride in thetracklike channel means formed by the top wall, sides and flanges. Therollers 72 and 73 are mounted adjacent the top wall of the fingersupporting member and support the finger supporting member so that itoverlaps with the sides of the guiding supporting member and nestswithin the U-shape. The guide supporting member is made of high strengthsteel and shaped to havea low twisting deflection.

The crank pin 57 of the crank 54 is attached to the guiding supportingmember adjacent the outboard end of the member and over the top surface.In the described embodiment the crank pin is rotatably supportedapproximately one-fifth of the total length of the member from theoutboard end. The crank pin support bracket 101 comprises two generallytriangular shaped plates 104 welded to the side walls 99 of the guidingsupporting member. A sleeve 102 with straps 105'are above the top walland extending across the width of the supporting member between theplates and welded thereto for firmly attaching the sleeve thereto. Thecrank pin 57 snugly fits in the sleeve 102 and has spacer 103 toseparate the. bracket 101 from the crank 54. On the other end washer 107bears against the retention pin 108 holding the guiding supportingmember on the crank pin. The crank pin 54 rotates in the sleeve 102 forrelative rotation of the crank and the sleeve. The outboard end of thefeed finger supporting member follows an elliptical path while the guidesupporting member follows a circular path. The rollers on the member 34roll on the guides or tracks 100 as the finger support member followsthe oval path of the first rotating drive means and the guiding supportmeans follows a circular path. Through these rollers, the guidingsupporting member supports the finger support member. Rotative ortwisting forces applied to the member 34 are transmitted to the mainportion or wall 98 and the sides 99 of the guide supporting member 35.Due to the stiffness of this member these forces are carried by thecrank pin 57. The support member is relatively stiff to the longitudinaland lateral bending forces applied to the feed fingers by the cropfeeding.

OPERATION The parallel reciprocating finger supporting means is carriedby the first and second rotating drive means through 360 degrees oftravel in a range of positions. The major ones are illustrated in FIGS.8, 9, 10 and 11. The connecting pivot and the crank pin 57 move in timedrelation through 360 degrees with the pivot connection 85 following theoval path of the chain and the crank pin 57 following a circular path ofthe crank 54. When the pivot pin 85 is in the mid-position of the lowerrun of the chain as illustrated in FIG. 1 the crank pin 57 is nearly atthe bottom of the circular path as shown in the same figure. Similarly,when the pivot pin 85 is in the mid-point of the upper run of the chain,the crank pin 57 will be correspondingly at the top of the circularpath. Since the crank 54 and the sprockets 40 and 41 are substantiallythe same, the radius of the path from the mid-point of the lower runfrom the mid-point of the upper run is longer than the circular pathsubscribed by the pin 57. Therefore the chain 42 travels at a higherspeed than the crank 57 for the pins to reach the respective points intimed relation.

In the downward movement into the initial crop engaging position shownin FIG. 11 the finger supporting member 34 and guiding supporting member35 are coincident in length since the connecting pin 85 and the crankpin 57 are both moving down in a circular are having the same radius.This means that the finger supporting means and the fingers 17-20 are inthe initial positions of the cycle in entering the hay movingvertically. The rear finger 20 may move close to the outboard wall ofthe feed chamber for clearing the corner of the casing of anyaccumulation of hay. This permits the feed chamber to be comparable inwidth to the pickup unit and for the pickup unit to receive hay fromalong its entire length without the hay packing at the outboard end ofthe feed chamber which eventually would cause the packing to occur alongthe substantial portion of the length of the feed chamber which rendersbalers inoperative. In the crop deliver position, as shown in the FIG.1, the feeder fingers are moving linearly along the feed chamber and thelead finger 17 enters into the bale case at the end of the linearmotion. After the lead finger is in the bale case, the finger supportingmeans is lifted by the chain going around the sprocket 40 so as tosubscribe an upward and circular path and force the hay into the upperleft comer of the bale case so that the bale case is entirely filled fora properly shaped bale. The trailing fingers 18, 19 and 20 are lifted insharp circular paths from the fed crop. This withdrawal of the fingersin the final stages of the delivery positions is substantiallyvertically as is the downward movement to the initial feed positions.Correspondingly the feed fingers'are returned to the initial outboardpositions by a substantially linear movement through the housing of thedrives. As is seen from the diagrammatical illustrations of FIGS. 8-11the finger supporting member and the guiding supporting member maintaina substantially parallel horizontal relation. At the commencement of thewithdrawal motion and at the commencement of the return of the feedfingers the finger supporting means is slightly tilted.

The motion of the finger supporting member 34 is supported at its leadend by the connections 81 and 85. The other end of the feed fingersupporting member 34 is supported and guided by the guiding supportingmember 35 through the rollers 72 and 73. The spacing of these rollersconnects the two supporting members in linear sliding relation to oneanother. On the delivery stroke the arc of the pin 57 of the crank 54and the lower run of the chain 42 are moving substantially parallel tothe feed chamber to impart substantially parallel movement to the fingersupporting means except for a slight tilt at the end of the stroke.

The distribution of the twisting forces or torques between the twomembers 34 and 35 and the member 35 and the crank pin 57 are important.The parallel reciprocating finger supporting means is subject todifferent loads from different directions. The major and largest forceis the compression force applied on the lead finger 17 on filling thebale case with the charge of hay, particularly in compressing the hayinto the upper left hand corner of the bale case. The bale case loadingforce on the feed finger 17 is primarily longitudinal to the feedchamber and creates an upward rotative force around the chain connector82. This force is applied to the guide member 35 through the rollers 72and 73. This creates a longitudinal twisting force in the guide memberwhich is easily carried by due to the stiffness of this member andapplied to the crank pin 57. The feed fingers 18,19,20 as well as 17apply a lesser but similar force to the members 34 and 35 and sweep thecrop material along the feed chamber.

Another force of note is applied to the sides of the feed fingers by theincoming crops from the pickup 13. This creates a turning action on thetubular member 34 which is transmitted to the chain connector 82 and tothe guide member 35 by the rollers 72 and 73.

From the description of these forces the importance of the transferenceeventually to the baler frame must be accomplished with a minimum ofwear and distortion of the dynamic members. The guide tracks 100 and therollers 72,73 are spaced transversely on opposite sides of the tubularfeed finger support member and spaced from the sides of the tubularmember to oppose the twisting forces applied to the tubular member,particularly those applied to the feed fingers. The rollers are alsospaced longitudinally to distribute the longitudinal turning forces suchas applied by the leading finger. The longitudinal spacing between theend set of rollers 73 and the intermediate set of rollers 72 remainsconstant throughout the path of travel of the parallel reciprocatingfinger support means. Thus the reciprocal interconnections are spaced adistance to opposite both the longitudinal and lateral twisting orbending forces applied to the parallel reciprocating finger supportingmeans. The wear of the rollers and rails or tracks are well withinacceptable limits. The crank pin 57 spanning the guide member receivesthe forces on the guide member and is firmly held by the crank arm. Theguide member 35 in the embodiment shown and described has little play ortwisting action. The tubular member 34 has a slight twist or play, thisis referred to as stability of the tubular member. This stability isvery good and remains so throughout extended operation of the baler dueto the minimal wear of the rollers and rails or tracks.

The rollers are traveling on the member receiving the distributed forceswhich is least likely to become distorted. If the tubular member 34 isdistorted under heavy forces this distortion does not affect thereciprocating relation of the two members.

The positioning of the tubular member 34 within the channel shapedmember 35 and the positioning of the rollers in transversely spacedrelation on opposite sides of the tubular member permits the freemovement of the tubular member past the crank pin. This provides theselection of the desired overlap between the members and the positioningof the crank 54 closer to the elliptical or oval shape drive. In thetraverse of the movement of the parallel finger supporting means, thetubular member passes the crank as shown in FIG. 11 and the trailingfeed finger 20 is at the crank pin when the crank pin is at its maximumdownward movement. The feed finger 20 is, therefore, movingsubstantially downward and penetrating the crops in the feed chamber ina downward circular arc adjacent to the end wall. The pivotal connection81 is also at the maximum downward movement. The parallel feed fingersupporting member is parallel to the feed chamber and remains parallelas the feed fingers penetrate the crop material. The trailing feedfinger 20 moves substantially vertically downwardly well into theoutboard corner of the feed chamber to clear the hay from this corner. I

Thus, in addition to improved durability, the parallel feed fingersupporting means has an improved parallel action resulting from thepositioning of the tubular member inside of the channel shape member andinterconnecting the members by rollers exterior to the tubular memberand interior to the channel shaped guide member.

Functionally the relationship of the tubular member and the guide memberprovides for a different distribution of the forces between these twomembers. The spacing of the rollers exteriorly from the sides of thetubular member and riding the rollers on rails or tracks also spacedtransverselyfrom the sides provides for an adequate amount of wearingsurfaces at a location to utilize greater leverage in opposing theforces on the tubular member. This satisfactorily increases the wearlife of these members thereby maintaining the stability of the tubularmember, breakage of the parts of the feeding mechanism, minimizingdamage from excessive forces and eliminating damage to the dynamicelements that would effect the operation of the feeding mechanism.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES It is seen from the foregoingdescription that the feeding mechanism, with the two piece parallelreciprocating finger supporting means actuated at the inboard bale caseend by a generally elliptical drive and at the outboard end and by acircularly rotating drive, is

substantially improved and more durable. The longitudinal and lateraltwisting forces applied to the parallel reciprocating. finger supportingmeans are countered by the stiff guide supporting member and the crankpin of the circular outboard rotating means or crank rather than thechain of the elliptical drive and the pivotal connection thereto. Thepositioning of the finger supporting member within a substantiallylarger guide supporting member provides for a greater versatility in thetype and configuration of the guide supporting member. This combinationpermits the better utilization of the space within the drive housing andof the high strength steels commercially available to provide a guidesupporting member highly resistant to torsion forces at an acceptablecost.

One of the most important advantages of the guide supporting memberbeing on the outside is that the inner passage of the feed fingersupport member can accommodate a spring pressure relief means. The feedfingers may be limited to actuating forces less than the feed fingersbreakage strength. This also increases the durability and reliability ofthe feeding mechanism.

Further, with the guide supporting member outside of the feed fingersupporting member, the two members have a larger amplitude of overlapthan previous machines. This improves substantially the parallelmovement of the parallel reciprocating finger supporting member andreduces the tilt of the finger supporting means so that the crop guardrod may be straight throughout the length of the feed chamber. Thisincreases the size of the feed chamber and the capacity of the machine.

While this invention has been described in connection with a singleembodiment it will be understood that this embodiment is capable ofmodification and that this description is intended to cover anyvariations, uses or adaptations following, in general, the principles ofthe invention and including such departures that the present disclosurehas come within known or customary practice in the art to which theinvention pertains, and are within the scope of the invention of thelimits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A feed mechanism for sweeping crop material from a feed chamber intoa bale case of a baler comprising:

a first drive over the bale case and feed chamber in the form of twosprockets and an endless chain passing thereover, a second drive in theform of a single rotating crank,

means for interconnecting said first drive and said second drive forrotation of said drives in timed relation,

a first supporting member extending generally parallel to said feedchamber and having downwardly extending feed fingers connected thereto,

means for pivotally connecting one end of said first supporting memberto said endless chain for actuating said first supporting member in agenerally elliptical path,

a second supporting member being relatively stiff to longitudinal andlateral bending forces and having a pivotal connection connecting saidsecond supporting member to said single crank,

porting elements with the supporting elements of each set transverselyspaced on opposite sides. of said first supporting member, one of saidsets being intermediately positioned and the other set being adjacentthe end opposite to the end connected to said first drive means,

said supporting elements riding in said track-like means in constantrelation to one another,

the parts be so arranged and constructed that as the supporting elementsmounted on the first supporting. member reciprocate within the secondsupporting member during rotation of said first and second drives, therelatively stiff second supporting member resists longitudinal andlateral bending forces imposed on it as the feeder fingers on the firstsupporting member contact crop materialand sweep the material into thebale case.

2. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said supportingelements are rollers.

3. A feed-mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pivotalconnection of the first supporting is transversely longer than thetransverse width of said first supporting member.

4. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said other set ofsupporting elements travels past said pivotal connection of said secondsupporting member.

5. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pivotalconnection of said second supporting member is spaced in from the end ofsaid second supporting means.

6. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1, said first supportingmember is tubular and a pressure relief means is provided thereinconnecting said means pivotally connected to said endless chain to saidsupporting member.

7. A feeding mechanism for a hay baler having a bale case with a feedopening in a vertical side wall thereof,

a plunger reciprocable in said chamber and past said opening,

a hay receiving platform extending from said feed opening and meansoperable transversely of said reciprocating plunger over said platformfor feeding hay into said bale case,

said feeding means comprising finger feed supporting means spaced aboveand extending along said platform, and having a first supporting memberand second supporting member in reciprocal overlapping relation withsaid first supporting member, feed fingers connected to and dependingdownwardly from said first supporting member,

means for reciprocating said feed finger supporting means in timedrelation with said plunger for periodically causing said fingers toengage hay on said platform and convey the hay into said bale chamber,said reciprocating means including a first generally elliptical driveand a second crank drive and first and second pivotal means forconnecting said first and second supporting members to said first andsecond drives, respectively;

said second supporting member being relatively stiff to longitudinal andlateral bending forces and having track-like channels on opposite sidesthereof in facing relation, and said first supporting memberreciprocably positioned between said channels and having two sets ofsupporting elements with the supporting elements of each settransversely spaced on opposite sides of said first supporting member insaid channels, said sets being longitudinally spaced apart and constantin relation to one another whereby said relatively stiff secondsupporting member receives the longitudinal and lateral bending forcesthrough said transversely and longitudinally spaced supporting elements.8. A feeding mechanism as set forth in claim 7 wherein said supportingelements are rollers.

9. A feed mechanism for sweeping crop material from a feed chamber intoa bale case of a baler comprising a first drive means rotating in agenerally elliptical path, a single crank drive means, first supportingmeans carrying downwardly projecting feed fingers and pivotallyconnected to said first drive means at the bale case end, a secondsupporting means having means pivotally connecting said secondsupporting means at the outboard end to said single crank drive means,said first supporting means reciprocally mounted on said secondsupporting means in linear reciprocal relation as said rotating drivemeans rotate said supporting means in timed relation to sweep said feedfingers through said feed chamber,

characterized by said second supporting means having a generallyhorizontal and longitudinal top wall and downwardly extending track-likemeans extending longitudinally along said top wall on opposite sidesthereof, said second'supporting means, in cooperation with said top walland said downwardly extending track-like means, being relatively stiffto longitudinally and laterally bending forces; and

said first supporting means positioned underneath said top wall andbetween said track-like means and having two sets of supporting elementsspaced longitudinally a constant distance and each set having supportingelements on opposite sides thereof and said constantly spaced supportingelements ride in said respective track-like means of said secondsupporting means to maintain the stability of said feed mechanism.

.10. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein said supportelements are rollers.

11. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein said sets ofsupporting elements are attached intermediate the ends of said firstsupporting means and adjacent the end opposite to the end attached tosaid first drive means.

12. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein said firstsupporting means is of a square tubular shape and said track-like meansare sides extending downwardly and flange means spaced from said topwall for said rollers to reciprocate along said flange means and saidtop wall for transmission of forces to said second supporting member.

13. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein a pressure reliefspring means is provided within said first supporting means operativelyconnected between said first drive means and said first suplportingmeans.

4. A feed mechanism for a baler avmg a transversely extending feedchamber which extends at right angles to a bale case, said feedmechanism sweeping crop material from the feed chamber into the balecase and comprising:

first and second transversely spaced apart drives movable over said balecase in timed relation to each other, first and second support members,said first support member having downwardly extending feed fingersconnected thereto, first and second means connecting said first andsecond support members to said first and second drives, respectively,said first and second connecting means being movable relative to eachother as said first and second drives move over the bale case in timedrelation to each other, said second support member having spaced aparttransversely extending track-like members and means above andinterconnecting the track-like members, said first support member havingtwo sets of spaced apart supporting elements mounted thereon in constantrelation to each other and to the first support member, the supportingelements of each set being transversely spaced on opposite sides of saidfirst supporting member, said supporting elements riding in saidtrack-like members and maintaining the first and second support membersin fixed alignment one to the other as they reciprocate towards and awayfrom each other as the drives move over said bale case, the parts beingso arranged and constructed that as the supporting elements mounted onthe first supporting member reciprocate along the track-like members ofthe second supporting member, the second supporting member resistslongitudinal and lateral bending forces imposed on it as the feederfingers on the first supporting member contacts crop material and sweepsthe material into the bale case. 15. A feed mechanism as set forth inclaim 14 wherein the first connecting means connects the end of thefirst support member adjacent the bale case to the first drive means,and wherein one of said sets of spaced apart elements is intermediatelypositioned along the first support member and the other set of spacedapart supporting elements is positioned adjacent to the end opposite tothe end connected to said first drive means.

1. A feed mechanism for sweeping crop material from a feed chamber into a bale case of a baler comprising: a first drive over the bale case and feed chamber in the form of two sprockets and an endless chain passing thereover, a second drive in the form of a single rotating crank, means for interconnecting said first drive and said second drive for rotation of said drives in timed relation, a first supporting member extending generally parallel to said feed chamber and having downwardly extending feed fingers connected thereto, means for pivotally connecting one end of said first supporting member to said endless chain for actuating said first supporting member in a generally elliptical path, a second supporting member being relatively stiff to longitudinal and lateral bending forces and having a pivotal connection connecting said second supporting member to said single crank, said second supporting member having a top wall, transversely spaced sides extending downwardly therefrom and inward flanges on said sides spaced from said top wall to form transversely spaced track-like means with said sides and top wall, said first supporting member having two sets of supporting elements with the supporting elements of each set transversely spaced on opposite sides of said first supporting member, one of said sets being intermediately positioned and the other set being adjacent the end opposite to the end connected to said first drive means, said supporting elements riding in said track-like means in constant relation to one another, the parts be so arranged and constructed that as the supporting elements mounted on the first supporting member reciprocate within the second suppOrting member during rotation of said first and second drives, the relatively stiff second supporting member resists longitudinal and lateral bending forces imposed on it as the feeder fingers on the first supporting member contact crop material and sweep the material into the bale case.
 2. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said supporting elements are rollers.
 3. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pivotal connection of the first supporting is transversely longer than the transverse width of said first supporting member.
 4. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said other set of supporting elements travels past said pivotal connection of said second supporting member.
 5. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pivotal connection of said second supporting member is spaced in from the end of said second supporting means.
 6. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 1, said first supporting member is tubular and a pressure relief means is provided therein connecting said means pivotally connected to said endless chain to said supporting member.
 7. A feeding mechanism for a hay baler having a bale case with a feed opening in a vertical side wall thereof, a plunger reciprocable in said chamber and past said opening, a hay receiving platform extending from said feed opening and means operable transversely of said reciprocating plunger over said platform for feeding hay into said bale case, said feeding means comprising finger feed supporting means spaced above and extending along said platform, and having a first supporting member and second supporting member in reciprocal overlapping relation with said first supporting member, feed fingers connected to and depending downwardly from said first supporting member, means for reciprocating said feed finger supporting means in timed relation with said plunger for periodically causing said fingers to engage hay on said platform and convey the hay into said bale chamber, said reciprocating means including a first generally elliptical drive and a second crank drive and first and second pivotal means for connecting said first and second supporting members to said first and second drives, respectively; said second supporting member being relatively stiff to longitudinal and lateral bending forces and having track-like channels on opposite sides thereof in facing relation, and said first supporting member reciprocably positioned between said channels and having two sets of supporting elements with the supporting elements of each set transversely spaced on opposite sides of said first supporting member in said channels, said sets being longitudinally spaced apart and constant in relation to one another whereby said relatively stiff second supporting member receives the longitudinal and lateral bending forces through said transversely and longitudinally spaced supporting elements.
 8. A feeding mechanism as set forth in claim 7 wherein said supporting elements are rollers.
 9. A feed mechanism for sweeping crop material from a feed chamber into a bale case of a baler comprising a first drive means rotating in a generally elliptical path, a single crank drive means, first supporting means carrying downwardly projecting feed fingers and pivotally connected to said first drive means at the bale case end, a second supporting means having means pivotally connecting said second supporting means at the outboard end to said single crank drive means, said first supporting means reciprocally mounted on said second supporting means in linear reciprocal relation as said rotating drive means rotate said supporting means in timed relation to sweep said feed fingers through said feed chamber, characterized by said second supporting means having a generally horizontal and longitudinal top wall and downwardly extending track-like means extending longitudinally along said top wall on opposite sides thereof, said second supporting means, in cooperation With said top wall and said downwardly extending track-like means, being relatively stiff to longitudinally and laterally bending forces; and said first supporting means positioned underneath said top wall and between said track-like means and having two sets of supporting elements spaced longitudinally a constant distance and each set having supporting elements on opposite sides thereof and said constantly spaced supporting elements ride in said respective track-like means of said second supporting means to maintain the stability of said feed mechanism.
 10. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein said support elements are rollers.
 11. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein said sets of supporting elements are attached intermediate the ends of said first supporting means and adjacent the end opposite to the end attached to said first drive means.
 12. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein said first supporting means is of a square tubular shape and said track-like means are sides extending downwardly and flange means spaced from said top wall for said rollers to reciprocate along said flange means and said top wall for transmission of forces to said second supporting member.
 13. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 9 wherein a pressure relief spring means is provided within said first supporting means operatively connected between said first drive means and said first supporting means.
 14. A feed mechanism for a baler having a transversely extending feed chamber which extends at right angles to a bale case, said feed mechanism sweeping crop material from the feed chamber into the bale case and comprising: first and second transversely spaced apart drives movable over said bale case in timed relation to each other, first and second support members, said first support member having downwardly extending feed fingers connected thereto, first and second means connecting said first and second support members to said first and second drives, respectively, said first and second connecting means being movable relative to each other as said first and second drives move over the bale case in timed relation to each other, said second support member having spaced apart transversely extending track-like members and means above and interconnecting the track-like members, said first support member having two sets of spaced apart supporting elements mounted thereon in constant relation to each other and to the first support member, the supporting elements of each set being transversely spaced on opposite sides of said first supporting member, said supporting elements riding in said track-like members and maintaining the first and second support members in fixed alignment one to the other as they reciprocate towards and away from each other as the drives move over said bale case, the parts being so arranged and constructed that as the supporting elements mounted on the first supporting member reciprocate along the track-like members of the second supporting member, the second supporting member resists longitudinal and lateral bending forces imposed on it as the feeder fingers on the first supporting member contacts crop material and sweeps the material into the bale case.
 15. A feed mechanism as set forth in claim 14 wherein the first connecting means connects the end of the first support member adjacent the bale case to the first drive means, and wherein one of said sets of spaced apart elements is intermediately positioned along the first support member and the other set of spaced apart supporting elements is positioned adjacent to the end opposite to the end connected to said first drive means. 